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My (unfortunate) Rivian Story. In Shop For a Month and Counting

R1Sky Business

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🍋....got to go
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the long way downunder

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I have held off sharing this story because I appreciate all that Rivian has been doing to try to fix my truck, but I'm at the point that I'd like some advice from the forum.

My truck went into a service center a month ago for some fairly common issues -- the drivetrain lash (the "tocking" noise at the point of acceleration/deceleration), the vehicle not being level (front passenger side always lower than the rest of the truck), off-center steering wheel/steering wheel shake/alignment issues, the dead accelerator issue (have to press it down over an inch before the motors start to engage).

When the truck first went to the service center they called me and said they had to replace the front drive unit, which shocked me, because it never gave me any error codes or showed signs of serious issues. But I was happy Rivian caught it and was going to make it right. In the meantime, they gave me a loaner which I really appreciated (and it didn't have any of the issues my truck had). It's now a month later and the truck is still at the service center. In that time, they've replaced the front drive unit, but couldn't get it working because it had some conflict with the firmware and they couldn't get the truck to reload new firmware. Today, they told me they have to replace the new front drive unit they just installed because they think it's defective since they can't get it to work with the firmware no matter what they do. They said they are ordering a new drive unit from the factory and are expediting it and hoping to be done next week.

The truth is I'm fine waiting for my truck because I have a great loaner and I appreciate the efforts Rivian is going through to make things right, but I also have to admit my concern with what seems to be one issue after another just getting my truck up and operating again. I'm concerned it's a problem truck at this point and the issues will continue once I get it back. On the other hand, maybe the issues will be worked out and it will end up being solid and reliable as a result of all the work that's being done on it now.

Today happens to also mark the day I am officially eligible to receive a brand new truck under CA's Lemon Law. I hate to go that route, but wonder if it might be the smart move. Any thoughts or advice?
This sounds like a good service experience and not a lemon law buyback nightmare.

There's nowhere near enough technical detail in your post to give actionable advice.

In short, it sounds like you're in good hands and having a loaner R1T means you're experiencing the best case scenario of an early adopter with a problematic vehicle.

Until things change, I see no need to take action. I do not think the lemon law applies at all, but that can be discussed separately if need be (it involves a recurring problem that the manufacturer has tried and failed to rectify, not just VOR days.)

I think it's important to have these "rather not have this in public" problems documented on public forums. There's a lot of collective experience to be shared. There's perhaps already an owner with this case experience or your case will be the thing that saves the next owner the long walk and instead can point to a printout of your service records and say "here, it might be this doohickey?"

In my experience with similar vehicles (Porsche, Tesla) the majority of problems with this one vehicle could well be a single defective component that's causing steering and suspension symptoms originating in the computer or component that's breaking the firmware update process that lead them to want to replace the front drive unit.
 

SANZC02

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Donald Stanfield

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IMO this is a problem that's happened to lots of people and I don't think a lemon law would get you out of it. I don't think you'd be any better off with a new one. For example, my truck had a rear drive unit failure that they caught on final inspection. I think you're better off just letting them fix it.
 

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zipzag

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I agree with the advice to wait. But would be sure to be a moderately polite squeaky wheel. Posting here is good. SoCal in particular seems to not have enough service capacity. If you become too passive they will always have another urgent repair to make.
 

manitou202

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Considering the second drive unit failure was due to a firmware issue, and didn't occur after they returned the truck, I would wait at this point. Waiting a couple of months for repairs in the current environment is very common.

If you plan on keeping the truck past the warranty, then I would ask for an extension of 6-12 months. Otherwise wait to see if they fix the issue.

If it were to drag on for several more months, or if they return the truck and it immediately has issues, then pursue the lemon law route.
 

Ravenron

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I think your path really comes down to how much PITA you're willing to tolerate. Having your truck in the shop is a pain but Rivian has given you another R1T as a loaner and it appears you can keep it until your truck is done - that's a plus. Also, from your post, Rivian appears to be working with you and keeping you informed. If you decide to pursue the Lemon option, I would expect things to get a bit more confrontational (i.e. Rivian gets their loaner back and things begin to be handled by attorneys). Also, we all signed an agreement to pursue mediation in events like this - what impact does that have on timing for your claim? Does work stop on your truck while mediation and lemon process takes over? Ultimately, I suspect you stand to significantly delay your fix/resolution, potentially lose your cush loaner and sour an otherwise positive relationship between you and your Rivian SC.

I guess, if the SC was not being helpful and Rivian didn't get you an R1T loaner, I'd be more inclined to pursue lemon...just doesn't seem like you're there yet. Just my $.02 - Best of luck - Hope it resolves soon!!!
 
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dleewla

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ive heard this issue/symptoms mentioned for many months now. no idea how many that is as a percentage of all the vehicles but its definitely not just a small handful. not sure if Rivian hasnt figured out what the root cause it but it does seem to still be appearing in vehicles. maybe its not just one issue but could be multiple? does anyone know if its limited to a certain range of VINs or its spread all across all VINs?
 

Dirty_B

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I haven't heard of this problem. If mine exhibited this, I would absolutely expect a drive motor replacement to be in my future.
I have this issue and thought it was just throttle mapping...
 

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SASSquatch

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My '18 Q7 experienced a major mechanical issue last fall, and it was out of warranty. Fortunately I've driven several Audis for the last 15 years so Audi of America "took care of me" by fixing the issue at no cost, my dealer also worked with me and was very helpful.
Due to the issues with shipping and part shortages, it took several months for the problem to be solved (about 4 and change). I the mean time I had a loaner (brand new Q3) that served its purpose.
The point of this is that I was ok waiting and I was also happy that this did not cost me a dime. Unless you have an immediate need to drive your car, I would just wait as it seems they are trying to get things done. That's just my $0.02
I agree with the dude with the super dope profile picture!
 

jffkm

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I have this issue and thought it was just throttle mapping...
Same here. I experienced this during the first drive a few years ago and figured it as throttle mapping. It did take a lot of travel for the motors to engage which is super different from tesla (few mm of travel on my model 3 and it starts to move, which I like).
 

itselectric

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ive heard this issue/symptoms mentioned for many months now. no idea how many that is as a percentage of all the vehicles but its definitely not just a small handful. not sure if Rivian hasnt figured out what the root cause it but it does seem to still be appearing in vehicles. maybe its not just one issue but could be multiple? does anyone know if its limited to a certain range of VINs or its spread all across all VINs?
I put it in my own thread but my new VIN 119XX has every issue listed as OP. No call from service yet to take it in.
 

ohseedee

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Considering you have a loaner that's the exact same truck that you would have anyway, I'd just hold off doing anything indefinitely. And enjoy the fact that you can put unlimited miles on the loaner and don't need to worry about any of the wear and tear (and I'd probably give it a bit more wear and tear).
 

s4wrxttcs

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I haven't measured the amount of throttle I have to give it before it moves, but it seems excessive to me. Has Rivian said what it's supposed to be?

My R1T has the tocking noise (or some suspension related noise), and the excessive travel area for the throttle.

If I was in your shoes I wouldn't lemon the vehicle because technically they haven't repaired it once. Instead their having difficulties fixing it. Sure I get the law might state something else, but I believe in fairness.

The biggest issue also seems to be that a lot of those issues impact a fair amount of customers. So all you can really do to fix the problem is to get your money back, but the truck is worth more than that if you sold it (once they fix it).

Sadly lots of us are all in a wait and see camp.

I'm actually jealous you have a loaner because you can do whatever you want with it. You can put it in and out of camp mode 20 times if you wanted to. You can take it off road to see how durable it is over long stretches.

Hopefully Rivian knows better than giving me a loaner R1T. I'd return it with 5K miles put on it per month just from "I was just testing". Especially when the EA chargers were free.
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